Oodles of Noodles: Make Your Own!

American Persimmon: The After-Frost Fruit

Searching for a beautiful tree that gives you enjoyment all year round? Meet the American Persimmon.

The American persimmon’s fruits are low in calories, but high in fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. They can be eaten fresh or used in preserves, pies, tarts, dehydrated, also in recipes for sorbets and ice creams. They are interchangeable with apricots in many recipes.

In the spring the persimmon tree is covered in sweetly fragranced flowers. Then throughout the summer the fruit grows, changing colors from yellow to orange to shades of purple as it matures. By fall this colorful tree sports leaves that vary in shades of yellow, red and purple. When they’ve gone dormant for the winter they even have pretty bark!

Fun fact: Persimmons are one of the common opossum’s favorite foods. They were featured together in a book written by Joseph Wharton Lippincott in1944 entitled “Persimmon Jim”.

Author

Lehman's

Ingredients

• 1 pastry for a 9 inch single crust pie
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups half and half
• 1 cup persimmon pulp
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Combine eggs, cinnamon, sugar, and salt.
3. Mix in cream, persimmon pulp, melted butter, and lemon.
4. Pour mixture into unbaked pie shell and bake until set and golden brown.
5. Cool before serving.